So it was startling Tuesday when it took the Warriors' head coach nine awkward seconds to name the NBA's current best player.

"LeBron James, right now, is the best player in the league, but Kevin Durant is certainly in the discussion. If you tell me it is Kevin Durant, I'm not going to argue with you," Jackson said after prepping for Wednesday's arrival of Durant and his Oklahoma City Thunder teammates. "When you're talking about moving forward, LeBron James and Kevin Durant are already all-time greats."

James is still widely accepted as the league's best all-around player, but Durant seems to be closing the gap. Or, at the very least, the Thunder's spindly scoring dynamo complicating what used to be a simple argument.

Durant is averaging more than 29 points per game and is on pace to lead the league in scoring for the fourth consecutive season. Only seven players have won three scoring titles in a row, and Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain, who each topped the charts seven straight times, are the only points champions in more than three consecutive seasons.

And it's no longer just scoring with Durant. Durant, 24, is averaging career highs in assists, steals and blocked shots and has taken his efficiency to another level. He could join Larry Bird as the only players in NBA history to average at least 28 points while shooting better than 50 percent from the floor, 90 percent from the foul line and 40 percent from three-point range.

"At times, I've had Durant was 1-A and LeBron was 1-B, but it's consistently been LeBron at 1-A and Durant at 1-B," NBA TV analyst Steve Smith said in a phone interview. "Both are just unreal when you look at what they're doing at their sizes. LeBron is basically a point-five and is so gifted athletically. Durant looked like the tallest player on OKC last year, but he was out there handling the ball like a guard.

"He's not the physical specimen of LeBron, but Durant scores even when teams are trying to beat him up. When he fills out and his body matures with old-man strength, it's going to be scary."

The Warriors don't want to think about how much better Durant could get. He's already been unstoppable against them.

The 6-foot-9, 235-pound forward has averaged 30.6 points on 50.4 percent field-goal shooting, 43.4 percent three-point shooting and 93.8 percent free-throw shooting in 18 games against the Warriors. He has averaged 8.9 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.1 blocked shots in those contests - numbers that would place him among the NBA's top 50 in each stat this season.

"I think he's the most talented offensive player in the league," said Warriors guard Jarrett Jack, who like Durant, hails from the Washington-Baltimore metro area. "Size-wise, he always creates a matchup problem. He's basically Dirk Nowitzki, but with better ball-handling.

"If there is a remedy to contain him, nobody knows it yet."

Durant had averaged 36.4 points during his past five games, including a career-best 52-point onslaught against Dallas on Friday and 32 against the Clippers on Tuesday.

"I think Kevin Durant is a spectacular basketball player, and he's going to be a Hall of Famer and an all-time great," Jackson said. "This league has not seen anything like Kevin Durant.

"Ever."

Wednesday's game

Who: Thunder (33-9) vs. Warriors (25-15)

Where: Oracle Arena

When: 7:30 p.m.

TV/Radio: CSNBA/NBATV/680

Of note: Oklahoma City has beaten the Warriors five straight times, including a 119-109 victory during which Kevin Durant recorded a triple-double Nov. 18. ... The Thunder had overtime games Friday and Sunday and played in Los Angeles on Tuesday night before flying to Oakland. ... Oklahoma City is first in the league in points per game, free-throw percentage and point differential; second in three-point percentage; and third in field-goal percentage. ... Russell Westbrook has the NBA's longest active streak, having played in 354 consecutive games.